This morning, however, she lets words do the talking -- and while she concedes that Marvin is in considerable pain, she emphasizes that, thus far, he shows no signs of the infection that destroyed two vertebrae that have since been removed.

To read the latest, click "Continue."

Hi All,

Jay moved to Bacharach Rehab Monday. The surgery was very successful, and rehab is going very well. Jay is in so much pain, I'm sure he would disagree, but all the doctors are thrilled. They found no signs of infection in the biopsy or on the gram stains, which was a pleasant surprise to all the doctors, including Ben Young, Jay's infectious disease doctor in Denver. Good job with those antibiotics, Ben. Good job to Dr. Mangalik and Dr. Mellman. I don't think Jay would be with us today without the three of you and Jim Lowe. Normally there would still be some active infection in the decaying bone. Jay has a 15" incision done his spine stapled together, a 6" incision stapled together over his left hip, where they took additional bone to graft, and a 10" incision under his left arm (his battle wounds). I asked Jim how he cut such a straight line down Jay's spine, and he said it's easy just to follow the spine; YEAH RIGHT! He said he would much rather do a tattoo so he can just put the tattoo back together:) I don't know how such a brilliant, talented surgeon can be so humble. All they want him to be able to do for the next three months is get in and out of bed and his wheel chair, and to be able to walk no more than 25'. As soon as he can do that, we can return to Denver. They take the staples out next Tuesday, do X-rays Wednesday to make sure everything is in place properly, and then, hopefully release him on Thursday. We may have to stay in the area a few days to make sure he has no problems on his own.

One of the dearest people we know, and one of the all-time best writers I might add, Ken Bruen, was in a serious car accident in Ireland last weekend. He gave Jay the little nun they taped to Jay's hand during his surgery. All the doctors were very touched and said it obviously worked. Thankfully, Ken is better and able to work on his laptop in the hospital. We love you Ken... keep getting better!!!!!

Thanks to all of you for being so great and supportive!!!!!!

All my love,

Mary

Get the Weekly Newsletter

Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.